To mark the start of NAIDOC Week, join Aunty Glenda Nicholls (Waddi Waddi, Ngarrindjeri and Yorta Yorta) in a creative workshop in making Feather Flowers. Learn about the cultural significance of feather flowers in Koorie communities, and view some of the precious feather flowers in the KHT Collection. Aunty Glenda will guide you through the technique of making the flowers, as well as her belief in paying respects to birds and animals. This workshop is perfect for adults to work together with their kids.
As a Wadi Wadi, Yorta Yorta and Ngarrindgeri aritst, Aunty Glenda Nicholls grew up around the Swan Hill area. Glenda watched her mother and Grandmother make feather flowers and do basket weaving.
Her cultural name is Jule Yarra Minj (‘little river girl’) and her maternal Ngarrindjeri totem is the Writcharuki (willy-willy wagtail).
She is a master weaver, constructing elaborate sculptural works that connect the present with her ancestral past. She applies cultural weaving techniques acquired from her ancestors alongside intimate knowledge of the waterways, plants and grasses on her Country
While working with the feathers Glenda liked to think of the animals and pay them respect.
She believes in community, as it will share these traditions with future generations.
We acknowledge the generous support of our public programming partners: Viva Energy Australia, Krystyna Campbell-Pretty and Family and The Orloff Family Charitable Trust.
credit: Aunty Glenda Nicholls holding feather flowers - photo by James Henry 2023